5 fun things to do on P.E.I. this mid-July weekend

Summer entertainment season is in full swing across P.E.I., with theatres and concert halls bursting with local entertainment. 

After a day spent picking strawberries — U-Picks are open! — why not take in some of the bounty of music and theatre the Island has on offer?

Old Man Luedecke is at the Trailside Café in Mount Stewart this weekend, The Ellis Family Band performs Saturday night at the Stompin' Tom Centre at Skinners Pond, and Highland Storm is on stage all summer at the College of Piping in Summerside.

Here are more of the many choices this mid-July weekend. 

1. Down with Demon Rum

Hank and Rowena Stinson are offering their dinner theatre show Down with Demon Rum again, this summer at Kings Playhouse in Georgetown.

The show is full of stories and songs about prohibition on P.E.I. — a total ban on alcohol which lasted from 1901 until 1948. Rum-running and bootlegging provided a living for many an Islander during that period and created fortunes for some including Captain Edward Dicks from Georgetown.

"It's going to be great fun. It's the right place for a show about rum-running of course because there is a rum-running dynasty from Georgetown — all named Dicks," Hank Stinson told CBC Radio: Mainstreet P.E.I.'s Angela Walker. 

The show plays every Friday starting at 6 p.m. for the next eight weeks. Tickets start at just under $22 and can be purchased through the King's Playhouse website.

2. Ireland Meets Scotland

Ireland meets Scotland tells the story of Irish and Scottish immigrants through music and dance.

"We wanted to do more than just play tunes — we wanted to tell a story," musician Kevin Jeffery told CBC's Angela Walker on Mainstreet P.E.I. "On Prince Edward Island, one great story that is here is the immigration of the Scottish and Irish people."

Those immigrants came to P.E.I. in the 1800s and brought with them many Celtic cultural traditions including music and dance, so "telling that story through music and dance is really easy," Jeffery said — noting there's a generous dose of humour woven into the show as well as a dash of original music.

In today's dollars it was the equivalent of five to six million dollars.— Bert Christie

Jeffrey's son Tristan is a fiddler and plays alongside him in the show, as well as Amanda Mark, Sean Kemp and two dancers. 

"A lot of people enjoy the traditional music of P.E.I. and putting it in a historical context is even taking it up a level," said Mark, noting Islanders and visitors alike will learn something new. 

The show runs Friday evenings at 8 p.m. from July 19 to Aug. 30 at Beaconsfield Historic House in Charlottetown and at the P.E.I. Preserve Company in New Glasgow July 17 to Aug. 28.

For tickets and info check out Ireland meets Scotland's Facebook page.

3. Haviland House 150th Birthday

Everyone is invited to the Haviland Club's birthday party Sunday afternoon from 1-4 p.m. at the majestic building at 2 Haviland Street in Charlottetown. 

The club has members but Sunday anyone can come for a tour, entertainment and refreshments. 

Guests can hear more about how the original home burned down in a big fire in Charlottetown in 1866. The house that is there now was built by a young widow, Esther Full Lowden, who took over her late husband's business — something that was very unusual at the time. Even more unusual, she successfully took many of those who owed her husband money to court, including his own brother. 

The grand home cost £4,500  — at a time when a modest home in the city cost about £250, according to Bert Christie, chair of the club's board of trustees.

"In today's dollars it was the equivalent of five to six million dollars," Christie said. "She was quite wealthy." 

After her death in 1896, the house became the U.S. consulate until 1923, then became rental apartments. In 1944 it was purchased from Lowden's grandsons by the United Services Officers Club for $4,000, Christie said. In 1997 the Officers Club — which was until then men-only — became the Haviland Club, and in 1999 women could become members of the private club. Members gather to play games and socailize, and the building is available for the public to rent for events. 

For info on Sunday's open house visit the Haviland Club website.

4. Ebb & Flow: Tides of Settlement on P.E.I.

There's a new multi-media show on stage Saturday evenings at historic Beaconsfield Carriage House in Charlottetown, from musician-performers Laurie Murphy and Amanda Mark. 

Ebb & Flow: Tides of Settlement explores the ebb and flow of those who have called P.E.I. their home, from the Indigenous Mi'kmaq to European and black settlers, through literature, music, dance, film and photographs.

Mark, who also stars in the aforementioned Ireland meets Scotland, and Murphy, formerly of the Drill Queens comedy troupe, have performed together over the years in several groups and got together to write a new show. 

"This theme of people coming and going from P.E.I. just kind of kept cropping up," said Mark, adding they interviewed historians and researched elements for the show for months. "It is a living project  — we are starting it, we are going to present what we have, but we are so open to bringing in new voices."

The two will welcome guest collaborators. There are displays to enjoy in the half-hour before the hour-long show begins at 8 p.m., and a question-and-answer after the show followed by a jam session. 

The show launches this Saturday July 13 and runs till Aug. 31. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 cash at the door, and is for all ages. For more info visit the event's Facebook page.

5. Spinning Yarns

Keep the weekend fun going into Monday with a show that's new to P.E.I., Spinning Yarns: Tales and Tunes of a homesick Newfoundlander at The Mack.  

It's created and performed by Stephen Guy-McGrath, who has been part of the ensemble of actors at the Confederation Centre the last several summers with roles in Anne of Green Gables — the Musical, Evangeline, Million Dollar Quartet, and Bill in Mamma Mia!

Guy-McGrath tells his own story of what it's like to grow up in St. John's in the late 1970s and early 1980s, performing traditional fiddle tunes throughout.  

"I refer to it as a fictionalized biography — so it's all things that really did happen that are then elaborated and expanded on to make them better stories. As my mother said, never let the facts get in the way of a good story!" 

He created the show about 20 years ago as a young actor "both to give me a job and act as a calling card," he said. Then "I started working often enough that I ended up not needing to do the show!" 

Centre artistic director Adam Brazier heard about the show and asked Guy-McGrath to revive the show for The Mack.

"The fact that the centre took the gamble on having me — I want it to do well for them as much as for myself," he said. 

"The stories are funny and the songs are sad," Guy-McGrath said, adding the show has a kitchen party feel. 

The show runs July 15 to Sept. 28  Tickets are $29 to 44 plus fees and taxes and can be found on the centre's website.

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